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Vitals are the beginning of the patient- caregiver interaction, providing critical
information related to changes in patient health
and playing an important role in treatment decisions. While the vitals
process has not changed significantly in 30 years,
the integration of electronic medical records, new technologies
and automated devices have made a significant impact on the overall
efficiency of the process.
Midmark incorporates these advances into products and processes that enhance
patient-caregiver interaction and provide
innovative and efficient workflow solutions. Let's explore the various
vitals workflow options.
The traditional vital signs workflow is a common setup for physician offices
with paper-based patient record systems.
Patient weight and height are captured manually in the hallway.
Elderly, disabled and overweight patients may need extra time for transitions.
Shoes and clothes may also require temporary storage
which can cause delays with patient flow in the hallway. For traditional vital
signs,
weight and height are measured in the hallway reducing patient privacy and
comfort.
The patient is then escorted to the exam room and directed to a side chair
or to the exam table possibly causing transition delays.
If the blood pressure cuff is manual and not attached to the wall,
the patient is typically seated in a chair next to the work surface for
paper-based patient records.
The traditional workflow requires an average of more than three minutes from
the time the patient is called.
The Midmark triage nook is a semi- private space designed to assess
and capture all vital signs. A curtain provides visual privacy.
The nook may include a scale, stadiometer,
automated blood pressure or pulse device. All vitals are taken in the vitals
triage nook.
Patients are then escorted to the exam room and directed to a side chair
or exam table for capturing additional health data. The nook is still a shared
space, however,
and can lead to queuing in the hallway. Family members accompanying patients may
also create congestion.
There may be a single station or multiple triage nook stations supporting
multiple exam rooms.
The triage nook workflow, when compared with the traditional,
saves 30 seconds by implementing automated vitals.
The EMR linear workflow is set up to assess and capture all vital signs in the
exam room.
Hallway congestion is minimized, and with seamless connectivity to the EMR,
transcription errors are eliminated. With this Midmark workflow,
weight and height are captured in the exam room. The patient is then seated in
a side chair to support proper posture next to a work surface
or workstation to gather patient vitals and health information.
All patient-related health information can be discussed during this process
with complete privacy.
The EMR linear workflow, when compared with the triage nook,
saves 22 seconds in conveyance time by moving all vitals to the exam room.
With increases in age, disability and obesity,
safe patient handling is becoming central to a safe patient workflow.
The EMR safe patient handling workflow captures all vital signs in the
exam room with minimal patient transfer.
The exam table has an integrated scale, while an automated vital signs device
mounted to the wall
and a mobile EMR workstation provide flexibility
and maximize access to the patient. Before the patient is seated on a low-
entry exam table,
height is captured with a wall-mounted stadiometer. The patient is directed
to the exam table to support proper posture.
Weight, temperature, pulse and blood pressure are captured via the integrated scale
and automated vital signs device. All patient related information can be
discussed during the process
while the patient sits on the exam table. The EMR safe patient handling
workflow
saves more than a minute over the traditional vitals workflow
over the course of the year. That's a savings of more than two weeks of
caregiver time
or enough time to treat more than 200 additional patients.
For more information about Midmark Clinical Solutions, call
1-800-MIDMARK
or visit midmarkclinicalsolutions.com.